New faces elected to Hawke' Bay Regional Council

Former Labour Minister Rick Barker has been elected to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

Local government candidates critical of the Ruataniwha Dam as well as oil and has exploration have failed to generate enough votes for election to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, where they had planned to lobby for change.Transparent Hawke's Bay co-chairs Tom Belford and Pauline Elliott fell short of the votes they needed to become regional councillors. They had lobbied for the regional council to be more publicly open around planning and details of the Ruataniwha Dam, which is part of the overall Tukituki Catchment Proposal.Mr Belford was among five candidates contesting three vacancies on the regional council's Hastings Ward. He missed out by just 16 votes behind incumbent Kevin Rose. It was Mr Belford's second attempt at election to the regional council, the first was in 2010.Mrs Elliot was one of seven candidates contesting the three vacancies on the regional council's Napier Ward. Don't Frack The Bay spokesperson Paul Bailey also ran for a place in the Napier Ward but was unsuccessful.The three winning candidates in the Hastings Ward included incumbent Kevin Rose, who returns for his sixth term on the regional council, while former Labour MP Rick Barker and Grower Action Group's Rex Graham begin their first term as regional councillors.The Grower Action Group wanted to replace Hawke's Bay regional councillors following the council's firm stance against Twyford irrigation during last summer's drought.The three vacancies in the Napier Ward were taken by incumbent councillors Alan Dick and Christine Scott while former Napier City councillor Dave Pipe was successful in his switch over to the regional council.Former Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Tim Gilbertson fell 118 votes short of returning to fill the single vacancy in the CHB Ward on the regional council, making way for candidate Debbie Hewitt who begins her first term.In the Ngaruroro Ward there was just one vacancy which was taken by Grower Action Group's Peter Bevan, a former Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive.